(CNN) – While being questioned Thursday by colleagues in his Senate confirmation hearing for secretary of state, Democratic Sen. John Kerry also defended another Cabinet nominee, former Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican.

Washington (CNN) – At times angry and choked with emotion, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday took on Republican critics of her department's handling of the September terrorist attack in Libya that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, but repeatedly distanced herself from a direct role in specific situations.

"As I have said many times since September 11, I take responsibility," Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the first of two long-anticipated congressional hearings Wednesday on the attack that became a major issue in the November presidential election.

Washington (CNN) – As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies on Capitol Hill today on the deaths of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, she comes equipped with one thing on her side: Sky-high public opinion numbers.

According to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Wednesday morning, just a few hours before the outgoing secretary of state testifies in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the morning and before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the afternoon, two-thirds of Americans say they have a favorable impression of Clinton, while just over one in four saying they have a unfavorable impression.FULL POST

(CNN) - House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce, R-California, met with Republicans on the committee and urged them to be respectful of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a GOP member of the Committee tells CNN.

Clinton will testify Wednesday before the committee on the U.S. consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya in September that left four Americans dead, including the U.S. ambassador. She testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier in the day, where she gave her own statement and took questions in the two-and-a-half-hour hearing.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Tom Nides is leaving the Obama administration, Nides told CNN this afternoon.

Nides, a longtime friend of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, started the job in 2010, leaving the position of chief operations officer at Morgan Stanley to do so. He always estimated he would serve in the position for roughly two years.FULL POST

(CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is sprinting to the finish as America's top diplomat, preparing for a high-profile hearing on the deadly Benghazi attack and two signature opportunities to have the last word on her tenure.

Clinton, who returned to work last week after battling a virus and a blood clot, is aggressively tackling her work load, even as official Washington gets ready to pause for President Barack Obama's second inaugural on Monday.

(CNN) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify on January 23 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya, the office of Chairman Ed Royce announced Monday.

Clinton was scheduled to appear on Capitol Hill in December but canceled her testimony while being treated for illness, a concussion and a blood clot near her brain. The country's top diplomat returned to work last week.FULL POST